HALFTIME UPDATE: Alabama heads into half leading Duke 45-13. Starting quarterback Greg McElroy has already been pulled for the day, and it looks like Ingram will share the same fate. If so, his final stat line will read seven rushes for 148 yards and two touchdowns, with much of that being after first contact. Nick Saban addressed his personnel situation with sideline reporter Jenn Brown before heading to the locker room. "We'll decide at halftime what we do with our players," Saban said. "I think [Ingram] has played enough."

Even if it was only flashes, seeing Ingram back on the field was a friendly reminder of how powerful the Crimson Tide offensive attack can be. Greg McElory has added thrown three touchdowns and the Trent Richardson took a bobbled kick return 91 yards to the house. Won't be surprised to see almost all second and third stringers on the field in the second half, as Saban will likely use the remainder of the game to learn more about his squad.

UPDATE: Ingram hasn't stopped, yard now the yards total 148. Best thing for Tide fans is to see how Ingram is running after contact, one of his most valuable assets. He has been doing Ingram things, bouncing off defenders and cutting through blocks flawlessly. He has shown no signs yet of any complications, and Alabama leads 35-3 with 9:00 left in the second quarter.

Mark Ingram is just fine, thanks for asking.

The defending Heisman Trophy winner picked up where he left off in 2009 with an dominating first quarter against Duke. Ingram took his first touch 48 yards on the first play of the game and never looked back. With just over three minutes left in the first quarter, Ingram has rushed for 119 yards on five carries and scored twice. Alabama is seemingly having their way with the Duke defense, piling up 247 total yards and taking a 28-3 lead.

Mark Ingram's speedy recovery from knee surgery only kept him out for the Alabama's first two games. After completing a full week of practice and "looking good" while doing it, Ingram will return to the field for the first time since accepting the national championship in January.

Ingram can be found in his old stomping ground on Saturday, back in the starting lineup. Ingram's starting spot has been kept warm by sophomore phenom Trent Richardson. Now with the Heisman Trophy winner sharing carries with Richardson, Alabama's rushing attack quickly jumps from "one of the best" in the nation to "the rushing attack."

Alabama has been able to handily take care of their first two opponents without the presence of defending Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, who has missed time rehabbing from arthroscopic knee surgery. Backup running back Trent Richardson (if we can even call him a backup) has thrived in his new starter position, averaging 6.6 yards per carry so far this season.

“He looks good. He’s excited to be back (and) we’re certainly thrilled to have him back,” Crimson Tide center William Vlachos said. “How much he’ll play, I don’t know. But he’s practiced the last two days, and he’s looked good. His spirits are high.”

In Ingram’s absence, sophomore Trent Richardson has averaged more than 100 yards per game, but Richardson is glad to have one of his closest friends on the team back just the same.

“It doesn’t look like he had any surgery, or that anything happened to him,” Richardson said.

“I’m very excited he’s come back. I (texted) him just last night, and said, ‘Glad to have you back, big bro.’ There’s nothing like having him in the backfield with me.”Any doubts about Alabama's place atop the polls has been put to rest with two convincing wins against San Jose State and Penn State. The Alabama defense has yet to allow a touchdown all season, and with Ingram healthy they carry arguably the two of the best running backs in the nation. Some would even contend that Ingram is one of the best players in the nation and still isn't even the best running back on his own team.

Regardless of how you would rank them, the Crimson Tide are better with Ingram in the lineup, and they've looked awfully good without him. It would not be a surprise to see him take the field in limited action this week to get some game experience under his belt. Duke's defense gave up 54 points to Wake Forest and 27 to Elon, currently resting them at 114th in the nation in points against. This should be a good warm up so that Ingram does not have to see his first action at No. 12 Arkansas next week in Fayetteville.